Malory and Tim had a wonderful day May 22nd when Beautiful Bamboo attended the
Manatee Rare Fruit Council's 25th Annual Rare Fruit Tree Sale. We were invited by MRFC to enhance the variety of edible plants available with the addition of bamboo. It was a day of tree-talk and kindred spirits - such a fun time investigating all of the tropical fruit trees for sale and talking with folks about the edibility of bamboo plants. We brought specimens of
Giant Timber (
Bambusa oldhamii),
Seabreeze (
Bambusa Malingensis),
Dwarf Buddha Belly (
Bambusa vulgaris Wamin),
Graceful (
Bambusa textilis gracilis) and a few others.
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| Tim stands with beautiful, young Giant Timber bamboos. |
Edible Bamboo Varieties
In the spring and summer, as the new shoots are emerging from the ground, they can be cut, processed and eaten. Traditional in many Asian cuisines like Chinese and Thai, young bamboo shoots are crunchy, fibrous, and starchy-tasting, similar to water chestnuts or potatoes.
While many bamboo species are edible, some varieties of bamboo are tastier than others. We have harvested and enjoyed eating the shoots of
Vivax Timber (
Phyllostachys vivax)
, Green Hedge (
Bambusa multiplex Silverstripe),
Giant Timber (
Bambusa oldhamii) and
Seabreeze (
Bambusa Malingensis).
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| Emerging Vivax shoots (Phyllostachys vivax). The small ones on left are ready to harvest. |
We have also heard
Dendrocalamus asper is a delicious bamboo variety commonly harvested for food in Asia. For a list of choice edible bamboo species, check out
Guadua Bamboo's complete list.
Nutritional Value of Bamboo Shoots
As you might expect of a plant food, bamboo is very health-promoting and
nutritious. It is low in saturated fat and sodium, and very low in cholesterol. Bamboo is also a good source of dietary fiber, protein, riboflavin and zinc, and a very good source of vitamin B6, potassium, copper and manganese. Despite the good nutrition found in bamboo shoots, one must be cautious of which varieties to eat. Some bamboo varieties contain cyanogenic glycosides, a toxic cyanide. See Preparing below to learn how to safely eat bamboo.
Harvesting Bamboo Shoots
Harvest new bamboo shoots when they are about four to six inches tall. As they grow taller they become more fibrous, so shoots greater than six or so inches tall might be too tough. At six-inches or less, they are still tender to eat. Try to find larger emerging shoots, about 2-3" in diameter, which will have more of the edible flesh inside. You can cut them with a saw or sawzall at or below the ground level.
Because some bamboo varieties contain toxic cyanogenic glycosides, it is best to know the species you are preparing. We recommend boiling the shoots for about an hour to 90 minutes, which will render most varieties safe to eat. However, the safest method is to figure out what variety of bamboo you are harvesting, and
look it up for edibility.
After boiling, allow shoots to cool to the touch, remove the hard outer skin and cut the pointy top off. Cut shoots lengthwise to expose the soft inner flesh. Chop shoots into desired size and shape, and your bamboo shoots are ready to cook!
Many Thai recipes call for bamboo shoots in curry dishes; they are delicious stir fried with other vegetables like bell peppers, mushrooms and carrots. For the Japanese method of preparing bamboo shoots, takenoko akunuki, check out this article from
KyotoFoodie.com.
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